Agent Alpha Ch. 09

Rhys was having trouble sleeping. His dreams seemed to be a repeat of Agent Peters shooting him in the gut and forcing him to watch as the Agents systematically slaughtered his pack. In the end, it kept returning to Aru demanding that he be let out and Rhys suddenly was thrust awake as he felt himself involuntarily shift. He jerked in his bed, shoving at the blankets and propping himself half up on his elbow. It was then that he noticed a pair of bright green eyes watching him.

Analise's wolf sat at the edge of the bed, offering him a wolfish grin while her spoon shaped tongue hung out and panted slightly. "Aruuu" she let out in a happy yelp.

Rhys was a bit alarmed. Not only had Analise shifted (probably without her consent) but her wolf was eliciting an involuntary shift out of him. Rhys swallowed hard as he fought Aru back down using every compromise and promise in the book. "... Analise what are you doing?" He let out in a tired sigh as he pushed the blankets back and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. It had been a long and stressful day, and even the pleasant dinner he had with Harvey and Clarise wasn't taking the edge off of his worry. That Analise in wolf form was sitting in his dark room staring at him didn't make him worry any less.

Of course, this wasn't Analise, per say. This was her wolf and Rhys didn't actually expect the animal to understand him. The dog moved to stand in between his legs, nudging his abs gently with her snout before looking up again at him with an expectant doggy smile. This wolf was far more docile and domesticated than any he knew, probably owing to Analise not being a true werewolf but a turn.

Rhys was tired but offered the creature an amused smile. He pushed his hands over her head, rubbing behind her ears and petting her precisely how he would any friendly dog. "You silly dog," he told her in a kind voice. "She's not going to be happy that you did this. You should head back before she figures it out."

To his surprise, the wolf jumped up, resting her paws on his legs, and smothered his face in dog licks. Analise's wolf, though she clearly thought otherwise, was not a tiny little lap dog. The weight of her landing on him and the force of her snout in his face was enough to push Rhys backward, even with his attempt to resist it. Still, as unexpected as it was, Rhys found himself chuckling in response, still petting the side of her head as he tried to push her away.

"Aruuuu," she let out again. This dog was just as persistent as Analise any day of the week. It was no wonder that they were constantly butting heads.

"Ok, ok, I'll let him out," he told her through his own chuckles.

The wolf jumped down and did an excited swirl, like a dog happily anticipating her owner to throw her favorite ball. She yelped and yipped happily as she waited for him to give her what she had come for. "Just one thing," he told her as he pulled his tee shirt off. "What's your name? What I should I call you, girl?"

"Rheaaaa," the dog yelped at him, clearly excited that they were talking and very happy to introduce herself.

"Rhea, huh? That's a very nice name. Did Analise give that to you?"

The dog yelped happily in the affirmative. Interesting, Rhys thought as he pulled off his shorts. Apparently Analise had at least taken that much of his advice. It was also interesting to him that Rhea seemed to be understanding him pretty well. It usually took wolves years to figure out human speech well enough to carry on a conversation of this level. It was impressive, actually, that Rhea was such an effective communicator. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Rhea. I'll have Aru to you in just a second. Can you show me where you got in at?" It was another piece of the puzzle.

Rhea trotted over to the open window and yelped at it. Rhys frowned slightly at this. He was on the second floor and there was no fire escape for Rhea to climb. He thought about asking her how she managed this, but Aru was starting to claw at him from inside. This would be a discussion for another time, he figured. Rhys cast Rhea a pleased grin and made his way over to the door. "We're probably going to have leave this way," he told her. "Aru isn't a great jumper. There are doggie doors like this all over the den; you can use these instead of the window if you want in the future."

Rhea cocked her head curiously at the doggy door and trotted forward to examine it. She sniffed at it and resumed her wolf grin. "Aru!" she yelped happily, obviously picking up his scent. Next she pawed at it and then jumped backward as the flap swung slightly. Her ears folded backward but then pushed forward again as she continued her exploration of the apparently interesting contraption. Rhys had to chuckle at her. Rhea was easy going and constantly happy. He instantly liked her and figured everyone else would too.

"I might have to have you meet the pack before Analise does," he said happily, crouching down to rest one arm over her back, scratching behind her ear, as he lifted the flap up for her to see past it. "See? Just the hallway over there. These are all over the den. You think you could come in and out this way?"

Rhea barked again in the affirmative and then spun happily, licking Rhys's face a few times and then again insisting for Aru.

"Ok, ok, here you go," he let up in false retreat. In an instant, Rhys shifted and in his place stood a large grey wolf. Rhea barked and yelped happily, doing her spinning happy dance as soon as he was there.

"Aru!" she announced happily. "Come! We run!"

"Yeah!" Aru let out just as happily as she was. What almost no one knew was that Rhys hardly ever let Aru out, particularly for something as pointless as running around. For the most of their shared life, Aru remained sadly caged away, silently sighing because he had no one to play with. Once Rhea started to assert herself, though, he demanded that Rhys let them play.

Rhea barked and then pushed through the doggy door, quickly followed by Aru. Given that Rhys had been in the den, no one questioned a pair of wolves trotting together through the hallways of the den. In fact, several people smiled at them and held the doors open as they made their way to the exit. Each time, Rhea let out a grateful and happy yelp, eliciting smiles and chuckles for those who assisted them. As Rhys had predicted, Rhea was instantly likeable. While no one recognized Rhea, more than a few people recognized Aru and the sight of their alpha running around frivolously went a long way toward calming high strung emotions in the pack.

Within a few moments, the pair made their way outside and were trotting to a nearby glade. "Aru we run!" Rhea proposed happily as she trotted in a circle around Aru.

"Yeah!" He answered again, nipping playfully at her tail as she passed by.

"Ready... go!" She shouted, first lowering her front half and wiggling her haunch in anticipation, and then breaking into the fastest sprint Aru had ever witnessed. Her ears folded back and she dashed like the wind.

"Wait for me!" Aru shouted after her, but he was never able to close the gap that had built. Rhea was considerably faster than he was and even after she made it to their randomly determined finish line, she wasn't even winded. Aru, on the other hand, was panting heavily. "You fast," he told her. "Wrestle?"

"Yeah!" Rhea answered happily, jumping up in the air with excitement.

Aru let out a happy yelp of his own and promptly launched himself at Rhea. The wolf dodged him fairly easily and then rolled slightly to pounce on him in return. Aru allowed her to land and then shifted his weight so that Rhea would lose her footing. The tactic worked and in an instant, Aru had tackled her to the ground, playfully biting at her ear while she attempted to gnaw at his jowls.

This pattern of play continued for hours. They would run long distances and then they would wrestle, followed by more running and more wrestling. The results were always the same: Rhea always won the races and Aru always won the wrestling, though Rhea was getting better at dodging him. Both Rhea and Aru determined, but the end of it all, that they were evenly matched and, interestingly, they decided to forgo the dominance challenges entirely, agreeing that they should cooperate as equals.

Only a human would have made it more complicated than that. The wolves had tested each other and determined that they were both strong and had complimentary strengths. That was all they needed to know to make this determination. Aru and Rhea were instant best friends for life and nothing anyone could say or do would change that.

Sometime after a countless number of races and wrestling matches, Aru looked up at the sky and then laid down, looking sadly on as Rhea continued to pounce around in a field, chasing after a rabbit. Rhea saw him and trotted up, with her spoon tongue hanging happily between her wolf grin. "Aru sad," she commented. "Why sad?"

"Want stay with Rhea," he replied in a whine. "Can't. Human say go back now."

Rhea growled slightly in disappointment. "No. Aru and Rhea stay!" She proposed happily. "Run! Wrestle! Eat food!"

Aru turned his head away in a sad sigh. "No. Aru want stay with Rhea but male human want female human now. Human say we play later. Go back now."

Rhea laid down in front of him and nudged his head with her muzzle. "Human mean," she said in a huff. "Rhea want stay with Aru." Rhea took on an inquisitive look suddenly. "Male human make female human give us play?" She asked hopefully.

Aru yelped in the affirmative, suddenly lifting his spirits. "Yes! Tomorrow night we play again! Male human make promise!"

"OK!" Rhea let out happily. She jumped to her feet and did her happy tail chaise dance. "Tomorrow we play again! Yeah!"

Aru was leased at this compromise and wagged his tail happily, jumping up to lick at her face. "We go to den now?"

"Ok!" Rhea agreed, already turning to trot in the correct direction.

When Analise opened her eyes later, she instantly realized that she was not where she thought she should have been. She was laying in Rhys's bed, curled up against him and in his arms while his hand gently caressed the small of her back, rather than in her hospital bed where she had fallen asleep. Analise slowly looked up to Rhys, who was staring contemplatively at the ceiling. Analise was confused, but not as alarmed as she thought she should have been. "... you know... if I keep waking up in your bed like this, it's not going to be too hard to convince Peters about this dating business we're falsifying."

Rhys's lips curled into an amused smirk. "I think you shifted in your sleep," he told her gently. "Rhea and Aru had a lot of fun chasing rabbits, from what I gather," he added. "There was some reluctance to return."

Analise's good humored expression melted slightly. "... what? She told you her name? And she was chasing rabbits?... please tell me I didn't eat one..."

Rhys let out a humored chuckle. "Yeah, she told me and no, no rabbits were harmed in the making of their play time."

"Precisely what else did play time entail?" She inquired without missing a beat.

Rhys turned his head, his deep blue eyes looking into hers. "Aru won't do that without my permission," he told her firmly, albeit in a friendly tone, "and I won't give him that permission without first getting yours," he finished, feeling her tension melt in his arms.

"Ok," she answered in relief. Analise obviously had no control over Rhea and knowing that Rhys could reel in Aru gave her a great deal of comfort. "Well, I'm glad they had a good time then," she added.

"I promised Aru that they could play again tomorrow," he told her hesitantly. "Rhea wasn't going to relinquish control at all and for a second there I thought she'd convince Aru not to shift back. She ended up proposing that we let them play together in the evenings as some sort of compromise. Aru wouldn't let go until I promised to make that happen..."

Analise gave him another alarmed look as she propped herself up to glare at him with worry. "... can... they can do that?" Panic was evident in her tone.

Rhys nodded a bit. "Like I said, you gotta work things out between the two of you. Not just your body anymore; sort of like being pregnant, I guess," he realized that while he didn't know what maternity was like, he did understand the idea of sharing a body with someone else. In that concept, he figured he was more knowledgeable than the average male. "I... I didn't really have a chance to ask you first but I figured it would get ugly for us both if I didn't. Rhea's pretty stubborn. Like someone else I know."

Analise sunk back down and let out a dejected sigh. "I should probably move near you until I can get her under control. I'm really sorry about this," she offered through a pathetic sigh. "I have no idea who saw her trotting through the hospital to get... where ever I am...?"

"You're in the den; in my apartment. I was worried about the same thing, though," he told her. "I'm guessing Rhea came straight here too so there was no illusion about what was going on."

Analise closed her eyes to steady her patience with... herself. "I had no idea," she offered, almost apologetically. "I remember falling asleep and I woke up here. Is... that's not common is it?"

Rhys shook his head. "All depends on how dominant the pair is. You're both pretty dominant, which means you are suppressing Rhea when you are "awake" and she suppresses you when it's her turn. Your case is probably the most extreme I've seen, but it's not new to our kind."

Analise was watching him closely, studying his expressions. A gentle silence fell between them before she finally spoke again. "I've got to ask you a favor," she offered finally.

This piqued Rhys's interest and he turned to offer her a curious look.

"I need to go back to Boston. I need... I'm guessing that I need to move out here for a while and I need to make a more stable arrangement about my cat and my mail and stuff." She continued looking at him, expecting him to connect the dots. When he didn't, she concluded, "Could you go with me? I don't trust myself at all with this right now and I need someone who can keep little miss Rhea from running wild down the streets of Boston."

Rhys raised both eyebrows, surprised by the proposition. "... I've actually never left Riverton before," he admitted painfully. "I'm happy to go, Analise, but... I don't know how much help I'll be if I'm that far out of my element..."

Analise grinned in a way that reminded him very much of the easy going Rhea grin. "Oh don't worry," she assured him. "I'll take care of Rhys as far as city life goes. I just need a babysitter for when I fall asleep," she answered finally, still offering him a friendly grin.

It was Rhys's turn to look painfully unsure of himself as he offered her a confused frown. "Look," she continued through a sigh. "We'd only be gone a few days. I know you've got this "Rhys is in charge" thing going on, but it isn't like this place will fall apart in just a few days? And if something does happen, can't that brother of yours handle it? Or what's her name, that french girl I hate. What's her name?"

"Clarise," he told her, still not liking where this idea was going.

"Yeah, Clarise. As much as I dislike her, she has her shit together," Analise volunteered in what was probably the most reasonable defense anyone had ever offered on behalf of Clarise. "That, and, I get the idea that she's shacking up with your brother so do you honestly think she'd let anything happen around here?" Analise considered what she was saying for a moment. "Actually, for that matter, who's that old- Isa! Isa's like your own guru or something. Yeah... here's what you do:" she started as if Analise had any say in the matter. The woman wouldn't have known that up until that moment, Isa was the only person to ever offer Rhys any sort of advice on pack management matters. "Tell your brother that he and his girlfriend are in charge while you're gone and if anything comes up that they can't figure out, they should go ask Isa," she told him confidently. "Your brother will be all happy that you trust him, Clarise will be the one who probably takes care of anything but that way she doesn't feel like she's stepping out of line or anything, and Isa won't feel kicked to the curb. Everyone wins and I get my escort for the week, plus, you get to take what I have determined is a much needed vacation on my dime."

Rhys couldn't argue. That was pretty sound logic. Analise was going to be better at pack dynamics than she realized. As for the part where she paid for his trip, however, Rhys could only glower at her sourly.

Analise rolled her eyes. "Consider it payment for pretending to be my boyfriend and baby sitting my pet wolf while I'm not around," she offered with a snort as she pushed herself out of the bed and tugged the top blanket up and around her. "Paying for your expenses is the least I can do."

Rhys finally determined what it was he didn't like about this arrangement and sat up to offer Analise a cross expression. "No." he answered solidly.

Analise turned to offer him a confused look. She hadn't been expecting that sort of response.

"No to all of it. I ain't gonna pretend to be your boyfriend. Either I am or I am not. Not where feelings like those are involved. Now I get it; you're scared out of your mind. You have been for the last thirty or so years, always thinking the big bad wolf was gonna grab you next, watching what the loss of your sister did to your family. Now you're scared that your own people ain't gonna understand what just happened to you; that you're a target now."

"I get that, Analise, because I'm scared too. Every night I go to bed wondering if I'm ever gonna wake up again or if this is my last day. I'm afraid because I've got a pretty big family to look after and it only takes one screw up for your people to be on us in an instant. I'm terrified that I'm gonna mess all this up and watch my family be slaughtered for it. And I am damn sick of hiding in fear and constantly playing pretend with every aspect of my life just so I can keep on living in fear so I sure as hell am not gonna do it with my love life too." Rhys nearly barked at her, the words left him so firmly. While Harvey may have guessed that Rhys felt this overwhelmed, he had never before articulated. Analise was the first person that Rhys even remotely felt could understand this stress that he wore every day.

Analise was a bit daunted by the lecture that Rhys delivered and she slowly sat back down on the edge of the bed, watching him with a mixture of sympathy, guilt, and deep understanding. "I... I'm sorry, Rhys," she told him honestly. "I didn't mean... I mean..."

"Look, I said I get it," he told her dismissively enough. "Analise, none of this is in our hands. Never was. You and I are afraid of the same thing from two different sides of the same coin and to be perfectly honest, I'm happy to have met you because... well, hell, I ain't afraid to go to sleep because I figure you got my back if something goes wrong. Now you think of that what you will, but I never thought I'd live long enough for that sort of relief and I sure as hell ain't gonna trivialize it by pretending to be your boyfriend just to throw a few or your people off my scent."

Analise was still and silent, her eyes drifting aimlessly forward as she listened to everything Rhys was telling her. "I'm a mess, Rhys," she finally told him. "Yeah, I've got your back," she shrugged slightly, "and I get the feeling that you're looking out for me, so, I mean, that's appreciated, but I'm still a mess. You're right; I am afraid. I have been ever since Laura went missing. Every time another little girl gets nabbed, I get scared for her. Now I have another thing that scares me: your pack. Now I get to be worried about what happens when my people show up and hurt all of those innocent people. Now I have to wonder how many innocent lives I've destroyed out of my own fear, and that's not a pleasant thought, I assure you."